‘I’m just saying, it’s a great opportunity.’
‘I’m going to hang up now, okay?’ I disconnected the call and stood there for a moment, forcing myself to inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth.
Note to self: Donotask Nikita for life advice unless youwantto be pushed off a cliff without a parachute.
Rajat’s office felt less intimidating with the overhead lights off. We’d killed the fluorescent glare an hour ago because it was giving me a headache and switched on the lone floor lamp in the corner. It threw a warm puddle of light over the couch and the coffee table, leaving the rest of the room in a dark shadow.
I’m not sure when it happened exactly, but the awkwardness and the hyper-awareness of being stranded here with Neil had dulled as the hours slipped by and we got deeper and deeper in conversation. I had stopped bothering to check the Uber app a while ago—there was no point. The deafening thunder had made it pretty clear that nobody was going home anytime soon. By midnight, we had slipped into the kind of comfort that was far too familiar for two people who’d only met about a month ago (and had hated each other’s guts for most of it).
‘But still … two and a half years is a long time to be single,’ Neil was saying from where he was seated on the other end of the couch, one leg folded under him and an arm thrown lazily over the backrest. ‘You’re notthatannoying.’
I was sitting on the couch with my knees tightly tucked under my chin and a knitted Jharokha blanket draped over my torso, but that didn’t stop me from trying to kick him. He caught myankle mid-air, his warm fingers wrapping firmly around my foot. A tremor ran down my leg and disappeared somewhere deep inside my abdomen. It’s a good thing I had a blanket to cover me, because my sleeveless kurta was not doing a good job of hiding all my goosebumps.
‘Let go!’ I shrieked, though it came out as a half-giggle.
‘No,’ he said simply, holding my gaze. ‘Not until you stop trying to assault me every five minutes.’ And then, without warning, he gently tugged on my foot. My body slid down until I was flat on my back with my head on the armrest … and my foot had ended up squarely in his lap.
Maybe the world really was going to end tonight, because I didn’t feel the need to pull it back.
‘You didn’t try the apps and stuff?’ Neil asked casually, as if this was a perfectly normal seating arrangement.
I tried to ignore my racing heart. ‘A little bit … went on a couple of dates a year ago. But I couldn’t keep it up. I don’t have the time or energy to date around.’
He let out a dry laugh. ‘What’s keeping you so busy, huh?’
‘Yeah, well, between work and my debilitating commute, I have zero bandwidth on weekdays. And weekends are strictly for recharging. Why would I waste them getting all dolled up to blow my salary on an overpriced meal and a guy whose idea of fun is talking about crypto?’
‘Why are these men making you pay on a date?’ He frowned, his voice dropping just a little. ‘I would never.’
My stomach flipped. Was heflirtingwith me? Before I could decide how to feel about that, a yawn escaped me. Neil noticed immediately. ‘You’re tired,’ he said softly.
‘Well, itispast my bedtime.’ I grumbled, pulling the blanket down so it covered all of me … and a little bit of him.
‘Mine too.’ He shifted on the couch, unfolding his tucked leg and stretching both his long legs out so they ended up on eitherside of mine. Beneath the fabric of our jeans, our knees brushed against each other. Neither of us moved away.
‘So,’ he said after a moment, ‘Is thereanythingyou actually like about this city? Because so far all I’ve heard is hateful bashing.’
‘I don’t hate it.’
‘You sound like you do.’
‘I don’t,’ I insisted, tucking the blanket tighter around my legs—ourlegs—as another yawn hit. ‘It’s just … not what I’d imagined.’
‘What had you imagined it’d be like?’
‘Like I’d come here and find a shitty apartment I could DIY into something cute and cozy … like I’d spend hours on a terrace watching the city’s skyline … like I’d meet neighbours and strangers and boys who’d want to get to know me, and snap stunning, candid photos of me … like I’d become the kind of girl those things happened to.’ I sank deeper into the couch, letting the blanket cover a part of my face to make up for how exposed I was beginning to feel.
‘Kavya, those things happen tonobody.’ His throaty chuckle travelled through the blanket. ‘Besides,Wake Up Sidis not even a good Bombay movie.’
‘Well, whichBombaymovie do you like?’ I borrowed his term for the city that locals like him often preferred to the official name. If I had a rupee for every time a resident has told me ‘Mumbai is a city but Bombay is an emotion’ …
‘Munna Bhai,’ he said without missing a beat.
If I wasn’t completely wiped out, I would’ve laughed harder.
‘What?’
‘Nothing,’ I said, smiling into my chest. ‘I just didn’t take you for ajaadu ki jhappikind of guy.’
